deception

• quotes


  ‘I am not what I am’ - Iago

  ‘Look at your wife, observe her well with Cassio’ - Iago

  ‘But such a handkerchief I’m sure it was your wife‘s‘ - Iago

  ’What you know you know‘ - Iago
• ‘I am not what I am’ - Iago

  • this line encapsulates his duplicitous nature and set the stage for the manipulation that follows
  • Iago presents himself as a loyal friend yet his true intentions are rooted in envy and malice
  • Iago’s deception highlights the theme of appearance vs reality as he uses friendship to gain Othello’s trust enabling him to plant seeds of doubt about Desdemona’s fidelity
  • Iago illustrates how deception can distort reality leading individuals to act on their own jealousy
• ‘I am not what I am’ - Iago

  • audience would feel an eeriness about Iago and dislike him as he uses duplicity to manipulate a well respected man in order to climb the great chain of being
• ‘Look at your wife observe her well with Cassio’ - Iago

  • Iago subtly plants the idea that Desdemona may be unfaithful with Cassio while advising Othello to keep a watchful eye on them manipulating his perception without providing any solid proof
  • Shakespeares intentions were to emphasise Iago’s deceiving nature as he so easily plants sees of doubt into Othello’s mind
  • audience would get a foreboding as Iago’s plans begin to succeed
• ‘But such a handkerchief Im sure it was your wife’s’ - Iago

  • Othello‘s misplaced trust in Iago leads him to believe the false hood of this evidence which causes Othello to spiral into irrational jealousy and rage
  • Iago’s lies slowly unravel Othello’s trust in Desdemona causing him to question her fidelity
  • Shakespeares intentions were to illustrate how deceiving Iago is as he continues to thread his malicious web of plans without hesitation
  • audience would detest Iago for his morally wrong and ungodly actions
• ‘What you know you know’ - Iago

  • Iago admits his deceit at the plays conclusion revealing that everything that he‘s done was for his own amusement and malicious intent
  • his silence highlights his complete manipulation and destruction of others
  • Shakespeares intentions were to emphasise the plays tragedy as not only has the innocent victim died and the tragic hero fallen but no one other than the audience will ever know whats happened
  • audience will be wretched that Iago got what he wanted and all innocent were defeated
• ‘I am not what I am’ - Iago

  • the adverb ‘not’ shows certainty in Iago’s statement which highlights his duplicitous character as he is completely the opposite of what he pretends to be